Are people who think that animals have rights mentally ill?

If I & started empathising with animal suffering I could not live with myself; its the road to nowhere. Humans must respect & care for animals but they cannot think of them as equals & remain sane at the same time. Humans like to endow each other with inaliable rights. If you pionately feel this way about animals then you need to be medicated or kept in secure accommodation. You are at great risk to yourself & society at large. DISCUSS